Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 22nd May 2025 Issue no. 1163

Your industry news - first

The original and best - for over 20 years!

We strongly recommend viewing Cleanzine full size in your web browser. Click our masthead above to visit our website version.

Ecolabel Certification for Cleaning Services: A Practical Guide to Documents and Procedures

Italian Professional Cleaning Suppliers Association Afidamp, has partnered with ISPRA, (Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale - the Italian Higher Institute for Environmental Protection & Research) to stage a seminar on Ecolabel Certification.

The seminar aims to be a useful and concrete guide to accompany cleaning companies in obtaining a certification of great importance for their work.

The EU Ecolabel certification for cleaning services is an official European Union trademark, recognised at community level, which identifies cleaning companies that offer services with a reduced environmental impact.

It is an important trademark which allows certified companies to stand out on the market and obtain a higher score in public tenders and calls for tenders and to contribute to environmental protection.

The criteria for assigning the EU Ecolabel to indoor cleaning services are defined in Commission Decision 2018/680/EU of 2nd May 2018, updated 29th March 2023. The Ecolabel and Ecoaudit Committee and ISPRA are responsible for assigning the certification.

The solid relationship that Afidamp has with ISPRA, has allowed it to organise a workshop dedicated specifically to cleaning companies, to clarify all the practical aspects and the procedure to follow to obtain the certification.

"Afidamp has always played an important role in dissemination, information and technical analysis for members and companies in its sector," explains Afidamp director Stefania Verrienti, (pictured). "This is also thanks to its presence in the most important national and international contexts and to its collaboration with the most important bodies.

"The seminar organised with ISPRA aims to be a useful and concrete guide to accompany cleaning companies in obtaining a certification of great importance for their work."

The workshop, led by Domenico Zuccaro, Giulia Maggiorelli and Clara Martemucci of ISPRA, was created as a real path in stages, capable of examining all the most relevant elements to understand the requirements for obtaining certification, the documentation to be presented and the application procedure. During the course, the various problems that emerged and the changes in progress were also analysed, precisely to help companies to better orientate themselves in a process that is not always simple, but very important.

Domenico Zuccaro explains further:

"The EU Ecolabel certification represents a concrete opportunity for companies to stand out in the market for their attention to the environment and quality of service. The assignment criteria are very rigorous, but achievable and allow for a sustainable and qualified approach to professional cleaning.

"It is ISPRA that carries out the technical-administrative investigation of applications for the EU Ecolabel trademark, establishes and maintains the registers of licenses and certified products, and spreads awareness of the trademark among the public and businesses.

"Following the submission of the application to the Ecolabel Italia section of the Committee c/o ISPRA and its technical-administrative evaluation by ISPRA, the latter sends the report containing its opinion to the Ecolabel section of the Committee and the latter makes a decision on the applicant's application."

Commission Decision 2018/680/EU of 2nd May 2018, updated to 29th March 2023, as explained during the workshop by Giulia Maggiorelli, applies to ordinary professional cleaning services, i.e. those provided at least monthly, with the exception of window cleaning, which is considered ordinary if it is carried out at least quarterly. It concerns services provided within commercial and institutional buildings, other buildings accessible to the public and private homes and also includes offices, sanitary facilities and hospital areas accessible to the public (for example corridors, waiting rooms and rest rooms). However, it does not include disinfection activities, cleaning activities carried out at production sites or activities for which the cleaning products are supplied by the customer.

There are seven mandatory criteria to be respected:

* Minimum use of EU/ISO I Ecolabel cleaning products
* Detergent dosage
* Minimum use of microfibre products
* Staff training
* Basic elements of an environmental management system
* Separate waste collection at the applicant's premises
* Use of the EU Ecolabel logo

Optional criteria include:

* Increased use of EU/ISO I Ecolabel cleaning products
* Use of concentrated products
* Increased use of microfibre products
* Use of EU/ISO I Ecolabel textiles
* Energy requirements on vacuum cleaners and washing machines
* Possession of ISO14001 certification and/or EMAS registration
* Quality of service (ISO 9001)
* Efficiency of company fleet - hybrid or zero-emission vehicles
* Other EU/ISO I Ecolabel services and products in use at the company and/or construction site

The company can choose from these, up to a minimum of 14 points. It is important to know that the requirements do not apply to a single construction site, but must be respected throughout the company's activity and that the competent bodies will carry out inspection visits.

During the workshop, all the mandatory and optional criteria are examined and analysed in detail, item by item, specifying which products are compliant with obtaining the certification (detergents, textiles, cleaning accessories, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, electric hand dryers and consumer products) and which scores they bring, how to fill out the Annual Data & Verification Form and by what deadlines to send them every year, which rules to follow for staff training, waste disposal, company fleets. It also illustrates which documents and forms to fill out (and how to do it) to avoid making mistakes. For this purpose, part of the workshop is dedicated to exploring all the possible and most common requests that are made and also to explaining, step by step, how to fill out the application correctly.

Only with the correct procedure and presentation of the required documents is it possible to easily pass the requests for certification and obtain the Ecolabel. In any case, it will always be necessary to document how you intend to use the obtained brand. The application for the granting of the license to use the EU Ecolabel must be sent to the Italian Competent Body (Ecolabel-Ecoaudit Committee) which, for its activity, uses the Technical support of the Ecolabel Section of ISPRA.

At the same time as preparing the application, it is necessary to proceed with pre-registration on the ECAT website. Upon receipt of the application or the start of the investigation by ISPRA, the registration on ECAT can be finalised. Finally, the investigation fees must be paid to ISPRA, are not refundable and cover any costs for the control checks established by the Committee, including inspection visits. The contract must be registered by the applicant with the Revenue Agency.

The process continues, as Giulia Maggiorelli comments, even after the assignment of the EU Ecolabel licence. The speakers recall that the applicant company is required to communicate any changes to the list of work sites where it provides EU Ecolabel certified cleaning services every four months, indicating the first and last day of activity at each site. It is not necessary to send if no changes have occurred.

Finally, ISPRA highlights that the licenses currently in force are valid until 31st December 2027 and that a review of the EU Ecolabel criteria for indoor cleaning services is planned for the second half of 2025, managed by the European Commission.

ISPRA will be present at the Afidamp stand at the ISSA PULIRE Fair, scheduled at Rho Fiera - Milan from 27th to 29th May, to provide further explanations or insights into the procedure and issues of general interest relating to certification.

www.afidamp.it | www.isprambiente.gov.it

17th April 2025